Day of the Dead
by Dreaming of a Bright Sky
Summary: Stiles stumbles across a ritual to breach the veil to the spirit world. He tries to call up his mother and finds so much more. Pre-slash Sterek


**Day of the Dead** by Dreaming of a Bright Sky

** Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or its characters!**

Note: This is November 2 and there's a LOT of lore surrounding this time of the year. I wanted to play with that a bit.

_This would be pre-slash Derek and Stiles. No real warnings._

Stiles' came across references to a "Day of the Dead" in some of his research. It was even older than the Spanish conquistadors. Some of the myths were even traced back to the Celts and the holiday of Samhain, when the veil between the mortal world and the spirit world was at its thinnest. In modern times, it was called Halloween and was celebrated on October 31. Long ago, it was held on November 2 and was seen as the beginning of the New Year.

The first time he came across it, he was too busy saving their asses to pay attention to anything other than the case at hand. When he saw it again, he was curious. It wasn't until he'd found a spell to actually open the veil and speak to loved ones that he became obsessed. He studied every aspect, collecting everything that he'd need. Some of the items were pretty strange, like dragon's blood. He was pretty relieved to find out that it was only resin from a tree, and that dragons didn't really exist. Well, he didn't think so anyway. The way his life was turning out, a dragon would pop up and attack their town, and he'd be stuck trying to help kill it.

The night of November 2 was crisp and clear. He made sure that his dad was asleep and Stiles climbed out his window. He left his jeep and walked towards the woods. Stiles knew where he was going, and he'd already cleared the area of leaves and debris the day before. A few stray bits had blown back in, but they were easy to clear out.

He drew the circle in the ground and checked his compass to check which way was north. Then he set up items in their cardinal directions, as described in the ritual. Stiles pulled out his mom's locket, stolen from his dad's dresser, and laid it out on a handkerchief that he was using as his altar. Lighting the fire, he chanted the words he'd copied down.

The hairs on his arms stood up and he felt a cold wind blow against him. The fire flickered but stayed lit. He spun, looking around. Nothing. He was going to try again when a familiar voice spoke to him. "Stiles, sweetie, you're playing with things that are dangerous."

"Mom!" He turned back around to see his mother standing outside the circle. She looked good, healthy. Not like he'd last seen her. Her smile was gentle.

"Opening the veil is never to be taken lightly."

Stiles felt tears sting his eyes. "I had to, mom. I had to see you. I had to tell you that I'm sorry!"

Her pale face was sad. "It was never your fault. I would do it all again to have you. It was my choice, Stiles. I knew the consequences and I chose to have a child. I chose you, and I cherished all the time that I had with you."

"Mom…"

"It makes me sad to see how much guilt you carry. Not unlike the guilt he carries. Less than his, perhaps, but it hurts both of you the same."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

His mother's apparition pointed and Stiles turned to look. Derek was standing there, staring at the spirit. The werewolf turned and glared at Stiles. "Do you have any idea how stupid this is? You idiot!"

Stile's mom laughed. It was a sound that Stiles missed so much. Fresh tears slid down his face and Derek tried to come closer. The circle wouldn't let him and he growled at it.

"Open a doorway for him, honey. There's some people here to see him too, but he has to be inside the circle."

"How? How do I open a gateway?"

She shook her head at him. "You have the power, but you need the training. If I'd lived, I'd have taught you. You'll have to look elsewhere. When you're ready, a teacher will find you." She pointed at the knife that he'd brought. "That's not a real athame, but it will work. Take it in your hand and imagine cutting open a doorway for your werewolf to enter."

"Um. He's not **_my_** werewolf, mom. I think you have a few things wrong. And training? Athame? You knew magic? How did I not know this?!"

"Stiles." Her voice was firm. "Our time is short. Please do as I asked."

He grabbed the knife, acting as instructed. Derek stepped through and immediately grabbed Stiles. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Talking to my mom. What does it look like?" The alpha's eyes glowed bright red. Stiles just patted him on the shoulder, oddly not afraid. "Down boy."

A soft voice interrupted them. "Hello, Derek."

The werewolf looked stunned and when he looked up, his family was standing with Stiles' mom. Even Laura was there. She waved. "Hey bro. I'm glad that you got your head out of your ass and became a decent alpha."

"Laura!"

"Well, it's true dad. He was awful at first."

Derek's mom smacked Laura in the head, and her daughter just grinned at her. The older woman spoke, "Derek, we wanted you to know that we love you."

His dad stepped forward. "You made mistakes, but you can only take responsibility for your own actions, son. Only your own and not anybody else's. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Derek's head was bowed and Stiles couldn't see his face. "I think so. But if I hadn't been so stupid!"

His father sighed. "You can't carry for the rest of your life. You need to live. Do it for us, if you can't do it for you. Stop using your guilt to build a barrier against the rest of the world. Everything you want is right there. You just have to be willing to accept it."

The whole family waved at Derek and was gone. Only Stiles' mom was left. "I love you. I'll always love you. And honey? Don't do this again." She smiled at him, warm and bright. With a little flutter, she was gone, and Stiles dropped to his knees.

Derek wasn't looking at him, but he nudged the circle with his toe. "End this thing. Now."

Stiles put out the fire and spoke more words. As soon as the circle was open, Derek took off and didn't look back. Stiles sat there, numb. He wanted her back. It was almost like losing her all over again. His chest grew tight and he sat in the middle of a dark forest having a panic attack. Even in his current state he knew how stupid this was, but he couldn't make it stop.

Derek stepped out from behind a tree, face unreadable. He didn't say anything, just sat next to Stiles. The alpha watched over him until the panic attack ended. Pulling himself together, Stiles packed up his stuff. "Thanks."

Derek walked silently behind him, seeing him home. Once Stiles was in his window, the alpha left.

It was days later when Stiles came home to find Derek in his room. The older man handed him a book. It was a little dirty and one side looked a bit scorched. "What is this?"."

When he opened it, the inside cover read, "Elizabeth Hale".

Derek had watched and when Stiles opened it, he nodded. "Read it so that you don't do anything stupid again." He exited out the window and Stiles yelled after him, "Thanks...I think."

On the next page was a symbol drawn in thick black ink. As he ran his fingers over it, he felt a tingle along his fingertips. He began reading. Eventually he figured out that opening the veil could have caused evil spirits to attach themselves to him, or to roam freely around the world. Ok, so maybe the whole thing hadn't been a great idea.

Derek began showing up more often, just sitting there and watching Stiles. He wasn't demanding anything or wanting information, he just kind of hung out. It was a little eerie at first, but eventually Stiles dragged him into conversations. It was more comfortable after that.

Towards the end of the book, full spells were written out. He saw the symbol that was drawn into the front of the book. As he read through the spell, he realized that it was to keep the book in the Hale family, and that it would not allow outsiders to read the knowledge and power contained in it. Stiles was confused and asked Derek about it. "Hey. There's a spell on this book to keep it in the Hale family and to keep others from reading it. How come you gave it to me?"

"I figured that you could read it and I wanted to make sure that you didn't pull another dumb-ass stunt."

Derek got up and started to leave. Stiles reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait. How did you know that I could read it? I'm not a member of the Hale family!"

Derek gently pulled his arm away and climbed outside. "Yes, you are." Then he was gone.

Stiles threw himself back onto the bed. "What in the hell did that mean?!" For a split second he thought he felt a chill wind, and he heard his mom's voice say, "He's **_your_** werewolf, honey."

Stiles looked around, wondering if he was losing his mind. He shrugged and chalked it up to his over active imagination. As to Derek, he'd figure it out later. For right now, he had tests to study for.

~~fin


End file.
